ARMENIAN, TURKISH INTELLECTUALS TO MEET ON APRIL 24

Tert.am
12:43 â~@¢ 02.04.10

Intellectuals from Turkey and Armenia are set to gather in the Turkish
capital on the anniversary of the 1915 killings of Armenians during
the last days of the Ottoman Empire, reports Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review.

The meeting is set to occur at a time when the historic normalization
process between the two countries has stalled.

Turkish and Armenian intellectuals will meet in Ankara on April 24
and 25 to discuss the events of 1915 and attempt to improve dialogue
between the two nations in an event organized by the Ankara Freedom
of Thought Initiative.

"We believe the problem between the two nations will be solved only
by dialogue," Sait Cetin, a writer, human-rights activists and one
of the organizers of the forum, told Hurriyet.

"Matters that concern us in the first degree are being discussed in
the capitals of the world because we cannot manage to talk [about
them] ourselves. The sincerity of the West is arguable, and Turkey
has an attitude of denial," Cetin added in a March 22 email interview.

Participants in the forum will talk about the events leading up to the
Armenian Genocide, as well as their political implications. Topics of
discussion are set to include "The Armenian issue from a historical
perspective," "From [the Committee of] Union and Progress to
Kemalism: official ideological denial and termination of the issue,"
"The Turkification of the capital" and "The Armenian issue: How to
handle it?"

Writer Temel Demirer underscored the importance of such dialogue
in order to ensure a more peaceful future, saying that the official
ideology in Turkey has tried to cover history up.

"We, as Turkish intellectuals, want to face the truth," he told the
Daily News in a phone interview.

When asked about possible reactions, Demirer added: "I do not blame
people who say the genocide did not happen. If there is such a thing
called freedom of speech, everybody should show respect to each others’
freedom of expression."

Cetin said the event had originally been planned to take place Jan.

19, the anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink, but the group had difficulty finding a suitable location
in Ankara for that date.

"Actually, it is good that [the meeting] coincided on this date,"
he said, referring to April 24, the commemoration day for victims of
the Armenian Genocide.

"We are going to present a perspective as different as we can for
Ankara and Yerevan on the solution of the historical problems,"
Cetin added.

In addition to Cetin, Demirer and Zarakolu, the 20 scheduled attendees
include Sevan NiÅ~_anyan, an academic, linguist and writer; Professor
Baskın Oran, a political scientist; and Khatcig Mouradian from the
US-based Armenian Weekly.

According to Cetin, the discussions at the forum will not be limited
the events of 1915, but will also include what happened before and
after, as well as contemporary reflections on the subject.